On Saturday, the container ship “MSC Baltic III” ran aground off the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The crew was evacuated and further work is underway.
According to the Canadian Coast Guard, there was a power failure on board the ship while it was traveling from Montreal to Corner Brook.
There was a strong storm on the scene, with waves up to 6 meters high at wind force 11. The captain made a distress call after the blackout before the freighter foundered west of Lake Harbour. The ship is now about 12 nautical miles west of the Bay of Islands. Following the rescue of the crew by helicopter, work is now focusing on securing the cargo and preventing environmental damage. An emergency zone of 2 nautical miles has been established around the scene of the accident.
According to the latest information, other Coast Guard vessels are on their way to the “MSC Baltic III”. The owner NordBaltic is also cooperating with the Coast Guard and has commissioned a salvage company, which is also expected at the ship.
The “MSC Baltic III” (25,407 GT), built in Wismar in 2003, is 207 m long and 29.8 m wide. Her capacity is 2,478 TEU. The ship has been sailing for MSC, the world’s largest container liner shipping company, since 2021.
